Voss

Voss is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. The main centre of population is the town Voss or Vossevangen. Voss is situated on the main road and railway line from Oslo to Bergen, about 100 kilometres east of Bergen. The people of Voss make their living mainly from agriculture and tourism, both in summer and winter.

1 History
2 Skiing and tourism
3 Famous people from Voss
4 Brand of water
5 External links

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History

In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Voss was a petty kingdom. According to legend, the people of Voss were forcibly converted to christianity by king Olav, who later became St. Olav. A stone cross situated in the town of Vossevangen is said to have been erected at this time. The town contains a stone church from 1277, with a 16th century excentric, octagonal steeple. Just outside the town is Finnesloftet, a wooden guild-hall believed to be the oldest profane wooden building in Northern Europe.

After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, Voss was the main point of mobilisation for the Norwegian army in the west, as the city of Bergen had fallen already on the first day of the invasion. Although most of the troops mobilised here were transferred by railway to the fighting in the east of the country, the German forces, advancing towards Voss along the railway-line from Bergen and from the Hardangerfjord. In Hardanger, some of the Germans climbed up the mountains from Ålvik while the rest went through through Granvin. They were met with stiff resistance. To break down this resistance the town of Voss was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 24 and 25 April, and the surrounding countryside on the 26 April. About a dozen civilians lost their lives in the bombing which completely destroyed the old wood-built town-centre. On 27 April, the German forces entered the town, which remained occupied until 8 May 1945.

In 1964 the municipality was enlarged with the incorporation of neighbouring Vossestrand and Evanger, which had up until then been separate municipalities within the traditional district also known as Voss.

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Skiing and tourism

Image:Vangskyrkja.jpg Voss sits in a spectacular location being surrounded by snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes and fast flowing white water rivers. This has lead to it developing as a notable center of skiing, water sports, skydiving, paragliding and other adventure sports. The area hosts the Ekstremsportveko (ExtremeSportsWeek) every year in the last week of June, which is regarded as the world's premier extreme sports festival. Bømoen, the local airstrip, is home to SkydiveVoss, one of the largest dropzones in Norway, as well as a gliding club. The rivers provide various levels of white water, attracting kayaking, rafting and river boarding. Kite surfing and Para-bungee may been seen on lake Vangsvatnet. The ski area, to the north of the town, is accessible via a cable car from the town. There is also chair lift access from Bavallen, a short distance to the north east of Voss. The town´s proximity to the beautiful Sognefjord, and its position between Bergen and Flåm on the scenic railway, has made it popular with tourists.

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Famous people from Voss

Like the rest of western Norway, Voss saw large-scale emigration, particularly to the United States, in the 19th and early 20th century. Famous Voss-Americans include the US Senator Knute Nelson, and American football player and coach Knute Rockne, who is commemorated by a memorial in Vossevangen.

Voss is a winter sports center, and has in recent times been the home of many world-class athletes in several winter-sports, most prominently biathlon, but also alpine skiing, nordic skiing and freestyle skiing. Athletes from Voss have been present, representing Norway, at every winter olympic games except one since 1948, the exception being 1972. Olympic champions from Voss include:

Eirik Kvalfoss - 1984 (biathlon, sprint)
Kristen Skjeldal - 1992 (cross-country skiing, relay)
Kari Traa - 2002 (freestyle skiing, moguls)
Egil Gjelland - 2002 (biathlon, relay)
Kristen Skjeldal - 2002 (cross-country skiing, relay)
Lars Bystøl - 2006 (ski jumping, K90)

In all, athletes from Voss have won 6 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 7 bronze medals at winter olympic games.

The controversial football agent Rune Hauge is also from Voss.

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Brand of water

Voss is also the brand name of expensive mineral water. It is bottled in a distinctive cylindrical bottles. The water comes from the same region as Voss, but not from within the town itself.

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External links

Municipalities of Hordaland	Image:Hordaland vapen.png
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